Scores

26 June, 2011

USA. Mexico. Rose Bowl. USA has a 13-1-1 record against Mexico in the US while Mexico has been on a scoring tear lately. By the 23' mark, the US is riding a comfortable 2-0 lead, time to sit back, even if they had to start Adu and Bedoya...

Then you remember Bob Bradley is coaching the US. And then the wheels come off. With 10 minutes left before the final whistle, you are wondering to yourself, "What happened to our back line? What happened to Howard in goal? How did we get to the point where we had Born'stain' playing and is it coincidence that we gave up all those goals after he came onto the pitch?" Then you cry yourself to sleep realizing that we have moved far past the days of a stud keeper and vaunted back line to that of overloaded midfield, crappy and slow backs and Freddy Adu looking good on the pitch again. You've entered, the Twilight Zone...

By the way, last goal was by Giovanni dos Santos... He's on the payroll for Tottenham yet hasn't played for them in nearly a year and a half being loaned out to Turkey because he was a drunkard and didn't practice after he moved to them from Barcelona. Guess the jokes on them, huh?

2 comments:

It was really sad watching us get dominated in the midfield and absolutely used on the back line. While Howard is a great goalkeeper, he has never produced a Keller-like performance in a tight international match.

What the US clearly lacks is depth. How have we gotten to the point where Freddie Adu starts at forward, Bedoya starts in midfield, and Borstein actually enters the match?

Cherundolo is a solid player but getting older by the minute as his recent injury problems suggest. While Bradley is solid, we have no true central midfielder. And absolutely no depth at any position except defense holding mid. Where is out next outside back going to come from?

It's time to develop our youth programs in the same fashion as Ajax or the English system. While MLS has improved the level of play, it has not proven to be adequate for the development of true young superstars. Agudelo has promise, but will he really develop gicen his current situation?

Here's hoping Holden makes a full recovery, Davies can find the form of old, and we discover another foreigner with an American military daddy who can come out of the woodworks. Until then, the USMNT may be stuck on cruise control on a nice leisurely Sunday drive through the countryside.

Fear not. We were winning 2-0 until Bornstein entered the game, and he was directly responsible for three goals, Goodson was responsible for the fourth. Now, if Timothy Chandler realizes he can start for us at right back (and Lichaj moved from right back to left back with Aston Villa), and by the time Bocanegra retires, maybe Gale Agbossumonde will be ready. So pencil in a 2014 back line of Chandler, Agbossumonde, Onyewu, and Lichaj. If Onyewu can't stay healthy we are in trouble.

In the midfield, as you mentioned Stuart Holden will start. The Alejandro Bedoya experiment needs to end as soon as possible. Did he even play? I saw him on the field but didn't actually see him play any soccer. So pencil in a diamond midfield with Bradley, Holden, Dempsey, and Donovan in 2014.

Finally, we have four forwards to choose from: Charlie Davies, Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo, and Teal Bunbury. Remember that Agudelo is only 18 years old. For that matter, Jozy is still only 21. Note that only one of those players was avialable for the semifinal and finals of the Gold Cup.

There is also Omar Salgado, 17 years old, who played for Mexico's U-17 but now plays with the United States U-20's. And the two kids at Hoffenheim: Charles Renken (17) and Joseph Gyau (18).

Crazy story about Charles Renken: born in Zambia, his brother was taken to the US as a child singer, abandoned, then adopted by the Renken family. The Renkens then adopted his three brothers from Zambia, including Charles.

As for Joseph Gyau, his grandfather was a National Team player for Ghana who played for Washington DC in the NASL. His father Philip Gyau had six caps for the United States.